Method of smoking comestibles



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| l I J METHOD OF SMOKING COMESTIBLES May 29, 1934.

May 29, 1934. TAYLOR 1,960,516

METHOD OF SMOKING COMESTIBLES Filed July 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q N jw/ Q $4 m J m f\ m h R Q\ g N 6 q E m g 1:: g

ATTORNEY Patented May 29, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I Harden F. Taylor, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to The I Atlantic Coast Fisheries Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maine Application July 27, 1928, Serial No. 295,713

T 4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of treating comestibles with smoke. More particularly it relates to a method and apparatus for smoking comestibles such as meat, fish and the like, without a the comestibles were disposed in the smoking 10 house by any suitable means, such as hanging from rods, on screens, etc., and subjected to smoke produced by a smouldering fire of wood fuel. The smoke was generated either in the lower part of the smoke house or in a smoke generator outside '15 of the smoke house and connected to the latter by means of ducts. In these processes it was the practise to ventilate the smoke house by drawing air in from below while the smoke flowed out through a flue. In the course of its travel through the smoke house the smoke circulated amongst the comestibles and deposited some of its material on the comestibles being treated.

In the above described process the production v of smoke caused an inevitable heating of the air or mixture of air and smoke gases. This rise in temperature was accompanied by a corresponding drop in relative humidity. Accordingly, when this smoke of relatively low humidity circulated amongst the comestibles being treated, moisture was evaporated from the comestibles and the latter contracted, toughened and lost weight. Another objectionable feature of this process is the length of time required to smoke a given lot of comestibles. Also, 5 when a flue was used for the efflux of smoke with corresponding influx of ventilating air from below, the process was very inefiicient. There was a great waste of smoke and only a relatively small portion of the smoke constituents actually 40 contacted with or lodged on the goods being treated.

I have found that I can overcome the abovementioned difficulties and impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process without, however, causing the drying and resulting preservationof said comestibles by treating the comestibles in a closed system with a smoke substantially saturated with water vapor; i. e. the smoke has a relative humidity of approximately 100.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a method of smoking comestibles which will substantially prevent the evaporation of moisture from the comestibles treated and impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process Without, however, causing the drying and resulting preservation of said comestibles. v 69 Another object of this invention is to provide a method for'smoking comestibles witha smoke having a high humidity.

Another object of this invention is to provide r a method of treating comestibles in a closed system with smoke having a highhumidity Without any substantial addition of air or escape of smoke.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for carrying out the above method. 7 l0 A specific object of this invention is to provide a smoking apparatus which comprises a closed ,system in which the admission of air or the escape of smoke therefrom is prevented.

Further objects will appear from the following description, appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my apparatus, partly in section.

Figure 2 is an end view of my apparatus, partly in section, and

Figure 3 is a section on lines 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating the arrangement of the fans.

Referring now to the drawings in which like 1 reference numerals designate like parts, the reference numeral 1 designates a smoke house hav-. ing end walls 2, 2', front wall 3, rear wall 3 and the top 4. The smoke house is preferably made of sheet iron and welded at the joints in order to make it air-tight and prevent the admission of air thereto or the exit of smoke therefrom. The interior of the smoke house is divided into compartments or chambers 5, 5 by means of a wall 6 extending longitudinally and supporting 5 members 7 extending transversely of the housing. The wall 6 is made of sheet metal and extends preferably at one end to the end wall 2 of the housing 1. At the other end it terminates a distance spaced from the end wall 2' for reasons which will become apparent from the description following hereafter. If desired the wall 6 may extend the entire length of the smoke houseor merely extend through the center thereof, 1. e., its ends may be spaced from both the end walls of the house.

. Mounted in a wall in the housing at any suit able point, and preferably in the center thereof, are fans 9 and 10. These fans are arranged in batteries and each battery is so arranged that it will draw or drive the smoke in a direction opposite to the adjacent battery, thus causing the smoke to circulate throughout the system as will be clearly seen by reference to Figure 1.

In the drawings, and especially in Figure 3, I have illustrated two batteries of fans, each battery comprising two rows or tiers containing two fans each. The fans in each horizontal row of each battery are so arranged that they will rotate in opposite directions. It is, of course, obvious that any number of fans or rows thereof may be used and the specific number which I have illustrated in the drawings is merely illustrative and not limitative of the invention.

The front wall 3 of the smoke house 1 is provided with doors 11 whereby access to the interior of the housing may be had and through which the smoke house may be charged with the goods to be treated. These doors are made air-tight by means of rubber gaskets or other suitable means. The longitudinal wall 6 is provided with doors 12 of the same type as doors 11. If desired, the rear wall 3' may be-also provided with doors of a like nature.

The smoke house, at both of its ends, is connected by ducts 13 and 13' to two smoke generators 14 and 14'. The number of generators used may be varied. Though I have illustrated and described two such generators, any number thereof may be used if desired. Sincethe specific details of these generators are not essential parts of this invention, further description thereof is not deemed necessary here. For a full description of these generators, see my copending application Serial No. 295,714 filed July 27, 1928, now Patent No. 1,811,191. Suflice it here to say that the fuel (saw-dust) is continuously and in regular quantities decomposed by electric heat with a minimum amount of heat escaping into the smoke. In the top 4 of the smoke house 1 there. is disposed a flue 15, the exit of the gases there- I from being controlled by a fan 16 and adamper 17 operated through a lever 18. On the ceiling of the smoke house there are provided sprinklers 19, whereby the smoke house may be washed or moisture supplied thereto. The sprinklers 19 are supplied with water from. a storage tank 20 by the main pipe 21 and the branch pipes 22 and the water supply thereto is controlled by any well-known valve or pump mechanism.

In carrying out my method, the comestibles such as meat, fish and the like, in their wet state are placed on shelves or racks made of screeningand which are mounted on trucks or carriers whose size is approximately that of the smoking compartment or chamber. The trucks are then introduced into the smoke house through the doors 11 and 12 and after closing the doors the smoke is generated at a substantially continuous and constant rate by the heat decomposition of the fuel (saw-dust). I have found that with a continuous rate of heat decomposition of the fuel and with my closed system that the concentration of the smoke is low in the smoking chamber at the beginning of the process. This low smoke concentration prevents the smoke from being deposited in the amounts that it is generated and, as a result, its concentration increases. As the concentration of the smoke increases, the rate of decomposition is increased proportionately, but since the rate of production is constant, a point of equilibrium is soon reached when the rate of the deposit is equal to the rate of production of the smoke. It is at this concentration, which is attained soon after the process is begun, that most of the smoking occurs. It is obvious from this that the smaller the surfaces of the smoking chamber and accessory structural parts in proportion to the goods to be smoked, the more effective will the smoking be. It is for this reason that I compactly arrange the goods on the trucks as above described and thus secure the largest possible quantity of goods to be treated for a given smoke chamber or compartment.

The smoke, as it is produced in generator 14 is drawn through the duct 13 into the smoke house 1 by the fans 9. The fans 9, during their operation, also force the smoke to travel through the smoke chambers 5 and the opposite generator 14. In the meantime fans 10 draw the smoke from the generator 14 and force it through the opposite side of the smoke house 1. In this manner a continuous circulation of smoke is obtained within the smoke house which is practically entirely closed. Since this system is practically closed and contains a large volume of wet comestibles, only a slight evaporation of moisture from these materials, in additionto the moisture produced by combustion of the hydrogenous'substances in the fuel is sufficient to bring about a substantial saturation of the smoke by the water.

By maintaining the temperature ofthe vapor. smoke low the evaporation from thematerial is lessened because the amount of water required 'to saturate the smoke is a function of the temperature. By having the system closed and the smoke saturated with water vapor, two of the most important avenues of escape of heat are eliminated. If the smoke is unsaturated, the wet goods can never be heated by the smoke to the temperature of the smoke as long as any amount are capable of absorbing a considerable quantity of heat before they reach the temperature where damage, such as partial cooking, may occur. The temperature at which the various comestibles become damaged by heat may be very easily and readily determined. In the case of the flesh of cod and haddock I have found that when this temperature is maintained between 80 and 85 F. satisfactory results are obtained. It is obvious that in the early part of the smoking process when the fish is cooler than the smoke, the temperature of the smoke may be a few degrees higher than the temperature at which the fish would be damaged. As the fish approach their critical temperature, the temperature of the smoke must not be materially higher than that of the fish. If during the process the temperature of the smoke house increases higher than necessary, the smoke house may be cooled in any'suitable manner, such as cooling the surrounding air and the like. I

Since it is obvious that various modifications and changes may be made in the above described apparatus and process, I do not intend to limit this invention to the exact details described except as defined in the appended claims.

I' claim:

1. The method of smoking comestibles to impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process without causing the drying and resulting preservation of said comestibles which comprises subjecting said comestibles to nonwashed smoke substantially saturated with water vapor.

2. The method of smoking comestibles to impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process Without causing the drying and resulting preservation of said comestibles which comprises subjecting said comestibles to nonwashed smoke substantially saturated with water vapor in a closed system to Whch there is substantially no admission of air or escape of smoke therefrom except that made necessary by the expansion and generation of the combustion gases.

The method of smoking comestibles to impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process without causing the drying and resulting preservation of said comestibles which comprises precooling said comestibles and subjecting said comestibles to non-washed smoke substantially saturated with water vapor at a temperature which does not materially coagulate said comestibles.

4. The method of smoking comestibles to impart thereto the aroma or flavor and color generally imparted to comestibles by the conventional smoking process without causing the drying and resulting preservation of said comestibles which comprises subjecting said comestibles to electrically generated smoke substantially saturated with water vapor and continuously circulating said smoke in a closed system to which there is substantially no admission of air or escape of smoke therefrom except that made necessary by the expansion and generation of the combustion gases.

HARDEN F. TAYLOR. 

